


In Which Abbie Reflects of Ichabod and Politeness

by MidnightMinx90



Series: Ichabod "Re-lives" the Revolution, or Why Abbie Should Think Gifts Through [3]
Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Assassin's Creed III, Gen, One-Sided Attraction, Wordcount: Over 1.000, abbie reflects on ichabod, haytham kenway - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-13
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-29 08:35:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1003275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightMinx90/pseuds/MidnightMinx90
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ichabod’s charismatic, polite even when he raises his voice, calm and collected almost always.<br/>It makes Abbie question how much has changed during the past 250 years, and Ichabod answers honestly.</p><p>Abbie keeps forgetting he's married, and when she starts reflecting on him, it makes it even harder to remember that she has no chance to get anywhere with him romantically.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Which Abbie Reflects of Ichabod and Politeness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShadowDarkKitten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowDarkKitten/gifts).



The more Abbie pays attention to the way Ichabod talk and behave, the more he reminds her of Haytham Kenway from the game. It makes her wonder if it’s a trait inherited in most men from that time, or if it’s just Ichabod. 

Ichabod’s charismatic, polite even when he raises his voice, calm and collected almost always, and that’s saying something, considering the man had slept for two hundred and fifty years. 

The way Ichabod acts when Abbie picks open the lock of what turns out to be the former Sheriff’s cottage makes her heart skip a beat, for it is so alike Haytham’s reaction when Charles kick open a door early on in the game. 

Finding out Haytham was a Templar was a surprise, especially because it meant he was the “bad guy”.

More so, it does make for even more interesting conversations between Abbie and Ichabod. If demons and Horsemen and witches exists, why not the assassin order, why not artefacts of Eden and Those Who Came Before?  
Considering what they’ve seen so far, they know they won’t be surprised if it turns out to be true, be it all or parts of it. 

It’s when Connor and Haytham decide to cooperate that Abbie finally dares to ask him.

“Crane,” she starts out when he makes Connor hide in the bushes as not to be detected, “were all men of your time as polite as you and Haytham, or were they more like Thomas and the others?”  
He pauses the game and looks at her, brows furrowed. 

“Lieutenant, I would like to say the truth as not to delude you, for then I would be nothing like the man you claim I am. When I was younger, I spent most of my time with what you call ‘polite men’, although I would simply call them men. There were men like Mr. Hickey, of course, but I did not acquaint myself with the likes of him.  
“It was different during the war, of course. When we were out fighting, even when we did not fight, the gap between those men and the ones more like me was very clear. Even so, several men I had thought to be of good repute showed they had simply been deceiving the rest of us, for they turned out to be no better than the drunken men of the street that had been recruited to the war so Britain would have enough soldiers to fight for them.  
“Both sides were alike in the war, no matter what they supported. There were those that fought for freedom and honour, and for what they believed to be right, but there were also those who fought simply because they enjoyed it and thought it would make them heroes if they fought and came back alive.” 

Ichabod takes a break from talking, just looking at Abbie without really seeing her, trying to find out what to say next. 

“What I did during the war, I did out of duty, out of allegiance, and it was not always honourable. It was and still is my conviction that what I did was the right thing to do. I helped the Commander to secure the sextant, to keep it from staying in the enemies’ hands, and I am proud of that. I have served this new country in the way I could back then, as I still am now.  
“I fought to make the new land a free land, a land of opportunity, a land where we could thrive and build new futures and families and new bonds. I fought for a better future for my wife and myself. You can clearly see where that has gotten me.”

He chuckles humourlessly.

Abbie is relieved, because it seems he didn’t see her when she flinched at the mention of his wife. She keeps forgetting he’s actually married, keeps forgetting there’s no chance he’ll ever return the feelings she has for him. It’s not that he can’t possibly ever feel something other than friendship and obligation towards her, it’s more that if he ever did feel more for her, he wouldn’t be able to act on it, because of the vows he made to his wife.  
Ichabod will always to the honourable thing, Abbie is convinced of it, and therefore she knows there can never be anything between them.

And as much as it hurts her, Abbie will try as best as she can to live with it. Ichabod seems certain he will be able to rescue his wife, and if (when) he does, Abbie will just have to stand back and pretend it’s not going to leave her scarred in ways she didn’t think she ever would be. 

She blinks, and realises he’s been looking at her for a while, seemingly worried at her state. 

“Might I be so bold as to ask what you were thinking about, Lieutenant?”  
“I was just thinking about how different you are from the men of today. As my experience goes, men are more like the drunken men of your time, rather than you.” This time it’s her turn to chuckle. 

Maybe it was a mistake to say that, because he frowns at her now, and she doesn’t like what she sees in his eyes.  
“I just haven’t been lucky, that’s all,” she quickly says, hoping to save herself from having to explain just how bad her past relationship and experiences have been. “I mean, after that thing in the woods, it hasn’t exactly been easy. Maybe it would have been different if I had left, but it’s too late to find out now.”

Ichabod must be a master of facial expressions, because he manages to show that he’s sorry for her, but it’s not pity in his eyes, just regret for her, and she’s grateful for it. 

With a glance at the clock, she rises, realising how late it’s become and that she needs to go home and get some sleep before work the next day. 

She turns in the door on her way out to say goodbye, and finds Ichabod right behind.  
He takes her and look into her eyes as he brings her hand to his lips, leaving a barely there kiss on it, making her heart flutter. 

“Goodnight, Abbie,” he says, his voice low and rough. She can’t even deny admitting to herself now that she really is falling for the man, so she hurries away from his room as fast as she can, not looking back unless she does something she’ll regret later.

That night, she dreams about what it would be like to be with Ichabod, what it would be like if he felt the same and could act on it. In the morning she can’t remember any of it, but it makes her feel sad, as though she’s lost something very dear to her.

**Author's Note:**

> I guess watching the 1995 edition of Sense and Sensibility today really helped to get the words flow again...


End file.
